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Police In Haledon, Wayne, West Milford Boost 2017 County Narcan Total

PASSAIC COUNTY, N.J. -- Narcan saves of overdosing heroin users in Passaic County continued to climb into the fourth week of January, authorities said -- with rescues reported in Haledon, Wayne and West Milford bringing the year-to-date total to eight.

Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes

Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes

Photo Credit: COURTESY: PCPO

Haledon police officers revived a 26-year-old man with two doses of Narcan after they found him “unresponsive and displaying blue lips and a slow pulse” on Sunday afternoon, said Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Haledon Deputy Police Chief Angelo Daniele, the department’s officer in charge.

The officers also seized several empty glassine envelopes stamped “IT’S MAGJIC” from the scene, Valdes and Daniele said Tuesday.

Barely 24 hours earlier, West Milford police revived a 31-year-old Hewitt woman with a single dose of Narcan that left her “responsive but sedated,” said Valdes and West Milford Police Chief Timothy Storbeck.

Responding officers also retrieved several empty bags stamped “Jackpot.”

Last Thursday, Wayne police revived a 32-year-old Kinnelon man with two doses, said Valdes and township Police Chief James Clarke.

Police turned over care of the victims in all of the cases to local emergency medical experts, the prosecutor said.

Having police carry and administer Narcan, which can temporarily reverse the effects of an opiate-related overdose, makes sense because they're always the first responders to a scene -- and time is critical in such cases, authorities emphasize.

They warn, however, that Narcan isn't a cure and shouldn't give anyone a false sense of security. Victims still require immediate medical attention.

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